I Wanna Sleep With You - 2.3

2.3

“Shall we go eat dinner before it gets dark?”

Seonho checked his watch and suggested.

“Where will we eat?”

Joo-eun stood up energetically and asked.

“You specifically said you wanted to eat barbecue in the garden.”

“Why are you suddenly so obedient? I thought you’d refuse since you hate being bothered.”

Joo-eun looked at Seonho with amusement, smiling.

“If I don’t do it now, it’ll just become more of a hassle later.”

Seonho’s reply made both Chaeyoon and Seokhyun nod in agreement. Joo-eun could be quite persistent.

“The preparations are probably all set, but we need to do the rest.”

“Sure, sure. Seokhyun-oppa is really good at grilling meat.”

Joo-eun playfully tapped Seokhyun on the back.

“Just leave it to me.”

Seokhyun confidently thumped his chest.

“And there he goes again. He really has become a fool for her.”

Chaeyoon shook her head in disbelief.

“If you keep teasing Seokhyun-oppa, we won’t give you any meat.”

Joo-eun placed her hands on her hips, childishly threatening.

“That doesn’t make you any cuter.”

“What did you say?”

When Joo-eun clenched her fist and ran towards her, Chaeyoon burst out laughing and ran outside.

“So Chaeyoon actually knows how to play like a kid.”

Seonho looked at the two women chasing each other with a strange expression.

“Right. Aren’t they just too cute?”

Seokhyun watched the two women with a pleased smile.

“Cute in what way?”

Seonho asked in a cynical voice.

“Everything?”

“Do you have to be crazy to start this absurd love?”

“I guess so?”

The sigh at the end of his words was very small, but it was not without weight.

“I’m not a romantic, so it’s hard for me to support a love that clearly has no future.”

“Who would root for us if they knew the situation? Only those who don’t know hope for a Cinderella story. Even Chaeyoon is strongly against it. If anything, her opposition is even stronger because she cares about Joo-eun.”

“I don’t particularly care for either you or Joo-eun, so I’ll remain neutral. Or should I say indifferent?”

“Considering you’re pretending not to know about our relationship, that’s already something.”

“We’re business partners, after all. I have to protect you. I owe you that much loyalty.”

“But still, the share I could offer you is much smaller compared to what you would gain if you married Joo-eun.”

“That’s true.”

Seonhoo shrugged his shoulders.

“Let me know when you’re free next week.”

“The presentation for the plan I mentioned before?”

“That and a few other things. I’d like to hear your opinion. If you like any of them, you’re welcome to join.”

“Got it. I’ll set a date and let you know.”

Just then, Joo-eun, who had finished playing tag, called out.

“Both of you, come out.”

Seonho and Seokhyun stepped outside.

***

“The view here is even more spectacular.”

The place where they had dinner was different from the peony garden. At the end of the peony garden, there was a wooden staircase that led up to a large grassy area.

From there, they could see the river flowing by. Watching the sky turn crimson as the sun set made one want to praise the beauty of nature.

“It’s really more than I imagined.”

“Right? All of Seonho’s villas are located in great places. He has an excellent eye for choosing spots.”

Joo-eun looked envious.

“Anyone want more meat?”

Seokhyun asked.

“We’re done. You two, stop grilling and come eat.”

At Joo-eun’s words, Seonho and Seokhyun brought the grilled meat and sat down.

“Good work, you two.”

Chaeyoon said to Seonho and Seokhyun.

“Wow, I never thought I’d see the day when I’d be eating grilled meat from Seonho. You must have learned well from my Seokhyun-oppa, right?”

Joo-eun teasingly said to Seonho.

“Seriously. Who knew I would learn to grill meat? Not sure if there will be a next time, though.”

“Eat, eat.”

Joo-eun held out a plate of meat to Seonho. Then she handed Chaeyoon a dessert.

“By the way, Seonho, aren’t you going abroad to study?”

Joo-eun asked Seonho.

“I’m not planning on it. I’m not sure I need to bother getting a degree there.”

“Oh, you don’t need a degree because you have the skills, is that it?”

Joo-eun chirped.

“That’s right.”

Seonho replied nonchalantly, as if it was obvious.

“You take that as a compliment again.”

“It’s true. If I had planned to go, I would have gone during middle school like my brother. In reality, they thought of my brother as the successor and didn’t send me.”

Seonho exuded an air of confidence typical of a strong leader.

“I know. Who would have thought you’d spread your wings during high school?”

Seokhyun chuckled and joined the conversation, amused by the business talk.

“I did more than just spread my wings. It was more like flapping them a few times.”

Seonho might have seemed laid-back and uncompetitive, merely lounging about, but he had been making revolutionary plans since high school, leaving his mark across various subsidiaries.

He said it was all just for fun. He said he was experimenting to see whether his plans would work.

And those experiments had impacted the entire group of subsidiaries.

The results of the experiment?

The lowest outcome was above-average performance. The company’s executives called him a mad genius. After that, key figures in the company, including Seonho’s mother, started to pay more attention to him.

The eldest son, who had thought he was the sole heir of the group, suddenly found himself with a competitor. Since then, the older brother had been tense and wary of Seonho. It was a typical rivalry scenario often seen in chaebol families.

And considering that, Seonho was in a tough position. His brother was a competitor, and his father, who supported his brother, was an adversary.

“Despite that, aren’t you still receiving scholarships? It’s not easy to get a scholarship at our school where only the brightest gather.”

“And who was it that received scholarships all four years?”

Seonho looked at Chaeyoon with a relaxed gaze.

“You’re being a little harsh. Someone who could afford to donate their scholarship is depriving others of the opportunity.”

Chaeyoon said in an accusing tone. It reminded her of a nightmare from her freshman year.

“You weren’t exactly struggling financially to need a scholarship either.”

“I wasn’t after the scholarship. I wanted to be in first place. The scholarship just came with it.”

“I felt the same way. There was someone I wanted to beat just once, but I never managed to do it. Then, while I was in the military, that person graduated early and ended up getting the scholarship that came with it.”

“Was the person you wanted to beat me by any chance?”

Chaeyoon pointed to her own face.

“I donated the scholarship I should have received.”

Seonho replied with a cheerful smile.

“Let’s not dwell on that now. We’re here for a farewell party, let’s not sour the mood, okay?”

Joo-eun intervened with a threatening look, stopping the argument between the two. They were always at odds, never able to relax for a moment, so the tension was never far from resurfacing.

“Are you joining the affiliate business right after graduation?”

Seokhyun quickly changed the subject following Joo-eun’s lead.

“No, not right away. Around midterms in the second semester.”

“Right, Chaeyoon, you joined around that time too, didn’t you?”

Joo-eun asked Chaeyoon.

“Yeah. There are a lot of internships and jobs around that time.”

Chaeyoon nodded.

“Have you decided where you’ll be working?”

Seokhyun asked Seonho.

“Not yet.”

“It must be nerve-wracking, wondering where you’ll end up.”

Chaeyoon said seriously.

“Why?”

“It’s like a test stage. Depending on where you end up, it can either be easy or difficult.”

“Really? Is that how it works?”

Joo-eun looked clueless. Since she wasn’t following a successor’s path, she didn’t have much interest in such matters.

“Depending on the situation, you can also tell who is being groomed as a successor. Those supported get sent to places where they can achieve great things, others to places where they struggle.”

Seokhyun chimed in.

“Oh, I see. Which side does Seonho fall on?”

Joo-eun asked curiously.

“Chairman Yoon is currently backing his brother, so that might put Seonho at a disadvantage.”

Seokhyun explained.

“That’s another matter. The vice-chairwoman is on Seonho’s side. She’s probably gathered shares through her own family connections, right? That’s not something you can easily dismiss. Plus, Joo-eun’s family holds shares too. If they side with Seonho, it could be quite advantageous for him.”

“Yeah, but the age difference between him and his brother is significant. His brother has already started to consolidate his power and is entering a stable phase.”

“Still, it’s too early to feel secure. The retired honorary chairman doesn’t care about age or educational background. It’s all about competence. That’s why he trusts the daughter-in-law, the vice-chairwoman, more than his own son, the chairman.”

“Wow, you really know a lot about our family, huh?”

Seonho, who had been listening to the exchange between Chaeyoon and Seokhyun, looked at Chaeyoon in wonder.